The European Commission is in the process of finalising a delegated act establishing criteria for the certification of biofuels derived from low-risk biomass to induce indirect land use changes (low ILUC risk biofuels for Indirect Land Use Change).
This issue could be raised at the next meeting of the European Commissioners' heads of cabinet, on Monday 11 February.
In a letter sent to the Commission on 6 February, EU agricultural organisations and cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca) said they opposed the draft delegated act, which would aim to “allow palm oil produced by small producers to be certified as a feedstock for low ILUC risk biofuels”.
When calculating the maximum share of biofuels and biofuels consumed in the transport sector, it is essential to comply with the provisions of Article 26.2 of Directive 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, explains Copa-Cogeca.
These provisions stipulate that the share of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from food and feed crops with a high risk of inducing indirect land use changes and whose production area significantly gains from land with a high carbon stock, “shall not exceed the level of consumption of such fuels in the Member State concerned recorded in 2019”.
Similarly, the derogation for raw materials certified as low ILUC risk biofuels should be respected, Copa-Cogeca insists. It is concerned that the draft delegated act may have gaps in the certification criteria of low ILUC risk biofuels.
According to Copa-Cogeca, the draft delegated act aims to allow palm oil produced by small producers to be certified as a feedstock for low ILUC risk biofuels.
“Copa and Cogeca reject this proposal”, the letter states, "as small producers are not independent of large palm oil plantations. Moreover, according to Copa-Cogeca's letter, there is no guarantee that small farmers will not be involved in deforestation actions.
Copa-Cogeca considers that the delegated act should establish binding legal provisions in order to avoid circumvention of Article 26.2 of the Directive “through exemptions for high ILUC risk biofuels, bioliquids and biomass biofuels”.
Copa-Cogeca therefore proposes that - the European Commission, together with the competent authorities of the countries, set up an observatory to monitor deforestation; - the Commission present a periodic report on the state of deforestation, where appropriate, accompanied by a decision prohibiting the issue of low ILUC risk certificates. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)